General Information and Policies
Our Cemeteries are private property, owned by, overseen by, and subject to the canonical authority of the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Los Angeles. Disposition rights may be purchased by Catholics, and members of their families, for burial in a grave (interment), a crypt (entombment), or a niche (inurnment). Ownership of the real property to which disposition rights are purchased is retained solely by the Archdiocese. Should you need clarification on any matter, or if you have any issues or questions not specifically addressed below, please contact the Cemetery Office.
Our Archdiocesan Catholic Cemeteries are an extension of our church community. They are a sacred testament to our belief in the resurrection of the body: holy places for prayer and consolation. They serve our parishes in ministering corporal and spiritual works of mercy: burying our deceased Catholic brethren and their family members, comforting the sorrowful, and praying for the living and the dead with all attendant rites of the Roman Catholic Church.
Catholic Cemeteries Holiday Schedule
Our offices are closed in observance of the following holidays:
- New Year's Day
- Martin Luther King Day *
- President's Day *
- Good Friday
- Independence Day
- Labor Day *
- Thanksgiving Day
- Christmas Day
* Offices at Cemetery locations with Mortuary Facilities will be open limited hours on the holidays indicated by an asterisk.
A Memorial Mass is celebrated every All Souls Day and Memorial Day at 10 a.m. for all deceased interred in the cemetery. Patrons, families and friends are cordially invited to attend.
Pre-Need Planning
Convenient cemetery pre-need arrangements can be made for the purchase of disposition rights to graves, crypts, or niches; for cemetery services; and for cemetery merchandise may be made at the cemetery office or in the privacy of your home. We are committed to be of service to you. For cemetery pre-need information, contact the individual cemetery listed on this site.
On-site mortuaries at many of our Catholic Cemeteries make it simple and convenient to plan all funeral arrangements.
Memorials
Memorials must be either granite or bronze and are subject to cemetery specifications and requirements. All other types of materials (e.g. marble, lime stone, synthetic, etc.) are not permitted. If a memorial is purchased from a source other than the cemetery, the purchaser or memorial dealer is charged with the responsibility to contact the cemetery in each instance, and in timely fashion beforehand, to ensure that the product meets our specifications and requirements. No memorial may be installed, removed or worked on without written authorization from cemetery management.
Cemetery Visitations
Please respect the privacy of our patrons and the dignity of our deceased. Visitors who do not act in a respectful manner, or exhibit unruly behavior or noise, may be asked to leave.
Photographs. Out of respect for the privacy and dignity of our patrons and our deceased brethren, and so as not to compromise the ability of our workers to perform their tasks, we do not permit picture taking, videotaping, filming or visual recording of any kind.
Prevent Theft. Please lock your vehicle. Do not leave valuables or personal effects unattended. Management is not responsible for possessions, valuables, or property brought into our cemetery.
Animals and pets are not allowed on the grounds or in the buildings.
Picnicking at grave sites, the use of lawn chairs, umbrellas, tables, ice chests or canopies lacks decorum and is therefore not permitted. Consumption of alcoholic beverages is illegal and not permitted.
Children under 15 years of age must be accompanied by a parent.
Music at grave sites should be liturgically appropriate, and is permitted only if it is not disruptive to other services or intrusive to the peace of visiting patrons nearby. Music should be reasonable in length, no more than a total of 10 minutes combined for a grave site service.
No soliciting or distribution. This is private property. No soliciting of goods or services of any kind, including, but not limited to. flowers, music, memorials, burial containers, insurance, landscaping, or maintenance permitted without the written authorization or approval of cemetery management. No distribution "informational? materials, donation request materials, or collateral sales material is permitted without the written authorization or approval of cemetery management.
Maximum speed limit in the cemetery is 15 miles per hour.
No Littering. Trash containers are conveniently located at curbside throughout the cemetery.
Grave Decorations
Flowers. Only fresh cut flowers may be used. Artificial flowers are not permitted. Flowers placed at grave sites are removed every Thursday. Only vases approved by, and in?stalled by cemetery management can be used. Upkeep and care of vases is the responsibility of the family. Any other type of containers, including, but not limited to, glass and crockery jars is not permitted, as they can be hazardous to visitors and cemetery personnel.
Funeral Flowers are removed the second day following the funeral, or as necessary to ensure safety of patrons or to avoid hindrance of cemetery operations. Families wishing to keep funeral flowers are advised and encouraged to retrieve them from grave sites before leaving the cemetery. Flowers are removed cemetery wide every Thursday. Management is in no way responsible for the care, safekeeping, or condition of flowers left on the cemetery premises.
Standing decorations of any kind, including, but not limited to, potted plants, artificial flowers, balloons, whirligigs, vigil candles, toys and breakable objects are not permitted as these too become hazardous and interfere with cemetery operations. Adhering or attaching items such as, but not limited to, cards or pictures or decorative elements to crypt fronts, memorials and standing monuments is not permitted. These objects will be removed by cemetery management whenever found on a grave or at crypt site.
Christmas and Easter Decorations are permitted subject to the schedules posted by the cemetery. The following outlines the special decoration policy.
Permitted decorations:
- 2 ft. Christmas tree that will fit in vase or is in a potted container
- One (1) tree per grave
- Tree ornaments made of fabric, wood, rubber or paper
- Poinsettias and potted plants
- Christmas wreath
- Easter lilies and potted plants
Not permitted:
- Decoration on cemetery landscape, e.g. trees, shrubs, features, etc.
- Decorative fencing around graves.
- Christmas lights, music boxes or any battery or electrically operated equipment/mechanism
- Glass or plastic or other fragile, easily breakable ornaments
- Standing Decorations, e.g. Santa Claus, Nutcracker figures, candy canes, snowman, Easter Bunny
- Anchoring spikes
This is a Roman Catholic Cemetery. All decorations must be respectful of and non-offensive to the religious nature and precepts of our Church. Accordingly, all decorations are subject to the approval of cemetery management, upon whose authority the decorations may be either permitted or removed.
Management is not liable for the care, maintenance, condition and security of decorations. At its sole discretion, management may remove decorations if it determines such decorations hinder the cemetery operations or compromise the safety of visitors or cemetery employees. Management is not responsible or in any way obligated to replace or pay for decorations that are moved, removed, stolen, damaged or destroyed.
Removal schedules for Christmas and Easter seasons are determined by cemetery management. As a general rule, Easter decorations are removed the Thursday following Easter.
In the interest or maintaining uniform beauty and in compliance with cemetery Rules and Regulations by all Burial Right Holders, the outlining of graves by digging trenches and filling them with decorative rocks or other materials, cutting sod away from memorials and planting dichondra or other types of grasses or foliage is not permitted.
